I've been trying for the longest time to figure out what English to use for that DS feature that the Japanese refer to as "surechigai." I think I'll go with what the folks at Guinness (and probably Square Enix) have decided on: Chance Encounter.

The reason Guinness has concerned itself with this particular bit of technology is because it has granted Dragon Quest IX's implementation of the feature World Record status as "The most popular ad-hoc game feature."

Square Enix sent out proof of the honor through certificates that looks a little something like this:

Surechigai, or Chance Encounter as it's apparently known in English, has proven to be one of Dragon Quest IX's major features. To use the feature, you place your copy of the game in Chance Encounter mode, and close your DS system. The system continues to send out Wi-Fi signals in this state, and if you pass by someone who has their DS and a copy of DQIX in a similar state, you'll exchange character and map data with the other player.

As of March 4, 2010, the feature has apparently been used 117,577,073 times in Dragon Quest IX.

Chance Encounter is used in a number of other DS games as well. Square Enix itself has used it in most of its DS Dragon Quest titles. Most recently, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2, which has topped the sales charts now three weeks in a row, included a Chance Encounter mode that could receive data from copies of DQIX and Dragon Quest VI.

This announcement coincides with the announcement yesterday of Dragon Quest IX's overseas release date. Known as Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, the game will see North American release on July 11 and European release on July 23. Chance Encounter and other wireless features will work between the various regional versions of the game, Square Enix confirmed.